Ah, Calories.

That’s a picture of me in college…pretending to be Pocahontas…looking super skinny. Which reminds me…

The Bonks are counting calories.

A few things always come up when you talk about counting calories. First, you hear, “Oh, come on! You’re not fat!” And then you see the Look. The look that says, “Okay, there, Lauren. Counting calories? Don’t you think you’re being a little neurotic about things? Are you okay?”

So let me just knock those right out of here.
First of all, no, we’re not fat. Are we getting a little squishy? Maybe. What I do know is that I’ve been suffering from a serious lack of energy and motivation for months (or 26 years) now, and a large chunk of that is due to the way I eat. I get stressed out because I can’t get everything done, and would much rather sit on the couch and watch Doctor Who all day. Now, I realize that this is a normal feeling…but I’m pretty sure it’s amplified by my crappy eating and lack of exercise.

Secondly, yeah, okay, so counting calories is a little neurotic in the first stages. After doing it for a while, however, it becomes less of a task and more of a general practice. The point is not to track everything to the millionth of a calorie…the point is awareness. It’s just like budgeting; as soon as you start to keep track of what you spend/eat, you automatically start to do less of it…without a lot of pain or effort. Paul and I need a lot of structure to keep ourselves motivated…and paying close attention to our calorie intake is going to be necessary at first if we’re going to stick to it.

As far as the “Are you okay?” portion of the Look… Yes. I’m okay. I’m not obsessed about my weight. It’s not a constant burden on my shoulders. You know what’s a constant burden on my shoulders? Having enough energy to properly and attentively raise a child.

This will be good for us, and ultimately good for Charlie.

The truth is, in all my years of being aware of my weight, the only thing (other than the getting-pregnant-and-exclusively-breastfeeding diet…but that’s not something Paul can do with me…) that has ever actually caused me to lose pounds and get healthy is calorie counting coupled with exercise.

That’s all there is to it.

So, wish us luck. Having Paul doing this with me will be great. We’re pretty good at motivating each other when we’re doing the same thing.

Do you guys have any awesome calorie counting resources or advice for us? Anything you’ve got would be appreciated!